Last year I wrote about ‘This Aint No Disco‘, a website where creative (ad) agencies can show their often amazing offices. In 2010 their first book will come out! Check it out here.

by Ian McCallam

Uxus Office Amsterdam
Categories: Advertising · Books · Design
Tagged: Amsterdam, Book, This AInt No Disco, UXUS, Website, Where We Work

On the 20th November, the very first TEDxAmsterdam took place at KIT. On their website they claim the following about the limited group of people who will be able to attend due to a strict invite only policy: “The diverse audience – CEOs, scientists, creatives, philanthropists – is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono.” I think there was an extra category created for me, namely ‘lucky bastard’.
Anyway, they finally managed to post the talk I enjoyed the most, which is Bjarke Ingels’ ‘Yes is More‘. Here you’ll also find a beautiful performance by Amsterdam singer Karsu Dönmez, love the second song. One last talk I would really recommend is photographer Hans Aarsman’s about the mysterious ways of beauty in photography
Categories: Design · Music · Musings · Photography · Recommendation · Video
Tagged: #TEDxAMS, 20 november 2009, Amsterdam, Bjarke Ingels, Karsu Dönmez, KIT, TED, TEDx, TEDxAmsterdam
November 26, 2009 · 1 Comment
And that’s definitely not the case for the daily facts they put up on Learn Something Every Day. UK design agency Young is behind this website filled with funny comics with random facts. You can order the prints and t-shirts here. Cool is that you can submit your own fact at fact@learnsomethingeveryday.co.uk and they might just use it!
Since I had a very intelligent tweet about ketchup today, this one made me smile:

I love to read
Test

Categories: Design · Musings
Tagged: Blinking, Comic, Design, Design Agency, Fun, Ketchup, Learn Something Every Day, Random, UK, Useless facts, Yawning, Young
I follow the online comic Toothpaste for Dinner every day (just as the Dutch comic Fokke & Sukke). It’s always good to start the day with a smile so here’s today’s comic:

Talking with Asteriks - (c) Toothpaste for Dinner
Check out one of the other 2,000 comics here, or even order your own personalised comic.
Categories: Design · Musings
Tagged: Comic, Fokke & Sukke, Online_comic, Talking_with_asteriks, Toothpaste for Dinner, toothpastefordinner.com

At least according to PLOT, Wieden + Kennedy’s (renowned ad agency for those who don’t know) own line of “contemporary jewellery, with a conceptual twist”. Lisa Prince and Nicholla Longley, both working at W+K London, noticed in their daily job that data can be presented in an aesthetical way. They decided to bring data and beauty together in the form of a jewelry line and PLOT is the result. Below for example you see a piece of jewelry which are actually the silver and oil prices from 1979-2009 when you take a closer look.

PLOT - Silver & Oil price 1979-2009PLOT - Silver and Oil Detail 1979-2009

PLOT - Silver and Oil Detail 1979-2009
I love the concept, although the execution might need a bit more work. Of course W+K wouldn’t be so good if they didn’t know how to launch this well, so you can either visit the PLOT website, their online shop, the Facebook page or check it our irl at Beyond the Valley, Newburgh Street, Carnaby Street. Luna & Curious, Brick Lane, both in London.
Categories: Design
Tagged: Ad Agency, Data, Data_is_beautiful, Jewelry, London, PLOT, Wieden+Kennedy

Newspaper bag by theindiashop.co.uk
Cleaning up my room made me come across a little souvenir from my Munich trip in September. I got this cute, paper bag when I bought some stuff at Aroma (great lunch place with an awesome collection of crazy gift and gadgets, must see when in Munich!). The bag is made of recycled Indian newspapers. It’s produced by a NGO which donates all income to street children around the Delhi station. Cool looking, eco-friendly, humanitarian bag, win³!
Categories: Design · Other · Trips
Tagged: Aroma, Aroma Lebensmittel, Brown bag, Delhi, Eco-friendly, Munich, Newspaper bag, NGO, theindiashop.co.uk
I’m not a collector at all (I actually enjoy throwing things away as I hate clutter) but the one thing I have always kept diligently since I was 15 are tickets of things I have visited and done. Think tickets from concerts, theatre, opera, movies, restaurants cards, boarding passes etc. Earlier this year I decided to give them a better place than an old box so I bought a Moleskine book. Had to work today (yes, I know it’s Sunday) but as a little distraction I put all tickets in the book . Few more pages to be filled before it’s full, making it a great overview of all the cool things I have seen and done the past 10 years.

Moleskine book 1999-2009 (here tickets from last three months)
Highlights: Pinkpop in 2000 (my very first festival), ISH Skate Event in 2001 (a ramp in a theatre, that’s cool), all my boarding passes to Copenhagen and back since 2005 (did an exchange there twice and it feels like home), Lux Debate U.S. ‘04 elections with Maarten van Rossem (very exciting times), my BahnCards 50 since 2005 (studied in and love Germany and went there numerous times with this travel card), Tina Dickow in 2008 (brilliant concert in New York City) and Kings of Leon in 2009 (first time seeing them live). Hope my next Moleskine book will fill itself with great memories as well!
Categories: Books · Musings
Tagged: 1999-2009, Concerts, Memories, Moleskine, Movies, Music, Tickets